HSTEU305 Wk I :
Cohn, Europe’s Inner Demons (revised edition), Ch 1 & 8 (1^st edition, Ch 1 & 6)

Chap. 1. Prelude in Antiquity

What kinds of accusations were made against Christians by some Romans in 2cd C. AD ?

How do these accusations fit into Roman political culture? What other groups were
accused of similar things during the Roman era?

What were the (actual) Christian practices that contributed to these fantastic accusations?

Chap. 8 The Society of Witches that Never Was

On the stereotype of the witch: note that the image Cohn gives here is from 15-17^th C.
Over the next few weeks we will see how this image was constructed over time.

[Skim pp. 103 and 104 - I won’t ask about the 19^th C. German scholars mentioned here]

What is the image of the witch presented in Jules Michelet’s La sorcière (1862) ?
Note that sorcière (sorceress) is the basic French word for “witch.”
What is “romantic” about Michelet’s view of the witch?

What is the significance of James Frazer’s Golden Bough (1890-1915) for later
images of witches?

Be able to describe Margaret Murray’s influential early 20^th view of witchcraft,
know the titles of her books, and be able to discuss the problems with her
use of historical sources and the serious misunderstandings in her work.

Vocabulary
Chap. 1 Gentiles Chap. 8 sabbat or Sabbath
apologist synagogue
Thyestean feast apostasy
Gnostics
libation
Dionysius
Eucharist (Communion)
Agape
Bacchanalia
syncretism
Hellenistic
Millennium
millenarian
Catharism (medieval version of Manicheanism)